Musical Chairs
by PopShop
Summary: If it's possible to wake up someplace else, is it possible to wake up as someone else? Sora finds out the hard way and needless to say, he's not particularly impressed. He wasn't aware 'Insomnia' was in his job description.


_more writing! i think i dreamt this. is dreamt a word? That is one odd lookin' word.** dreamt**. so yeah, anyway, don't own KH, and if i did, Donald would probably be mute ..._

* * *

"I don't get it."

There's a collective sigh in the darkened room, the reclusive teenagers hidden within, blinking against the white light of the television, stretching neglected limbs, groaning to cover the sounds of bone snapping and clicking into place beneath skin.

"Sora, please tell me your joking," comes the exhausted response from the darkness, the owner of the low drawl barely managing to conceal his amusement from his voice. A sudden burst of girlish giggles following his sullen statement, along with her faint mutterings of, "I _SERIOUSLY _doubt that".

"Are you sayin', you sat through nearly two hours worth of movie without having the slightest idea of what the hell you were lookin' at?" another voice shrieks from the blackness, dangerously high-pitched for a teenage boy, a tone constantly balancing on a thin line between hysterical, and immaturely excitable.

"Not like you to _NOT_ ask questions, Sora," concurs another voice, no doubt enthusiastically nodding her agreement from the darkness.

There's a shifting of shadow across the room as Sora finally heaves himself up from the carpet, his mussed head of tangled mess suddenly obscuring the flickering light from the television, even more so as he reaches an arm up in some vague attempt at organising his present hobo-chic appearance.

"Sorry Selph, I just figured if I started interrupting with a billion 'n' one questions, Tidus woulda gotten a little ..."

"Snappy?" offers Selphie, her wide smile casting it's own light in the dimly lit room.

"Cranky?" interjects Riku, maintaining his usual air of indifference.

"Pre-menstrual," confirms Kairi, still curled comfortably across Riku's legs.

The only thing capable of interrupting Selphie's snorts of laughter comes in the form of Tidus' hastily prepared defence, his eloquently put-together argument of '_fuck off_'.

It's Selphie's following explosion of laughter that prompts Tidus to leap to his feet, slam his fist on the light switch before donning his best '_I-know-where-you-live_' expression, fully focused on the toothy ball of sunshine grinning back at him.

Sora casts a tired glance around the room, fully absorbing the war zone they've managed to convert the living area into. The coffee table is decorated with various bottles and boxes, varnishes and lipsticks left abandoned from Selphie's previous make-over session, the remnants of which are still visible smudged across Riku's face, his new Barbie-pink fingernails. Tidus' blitzball gear is scattered about the floor, disregarded along with his previous concerns about the following mornings early training session.

"Remind me why we keep you around?" Tidus fires back at the red-head, a characteristic, shit-eating grin spreading across his face, carefully assessing Kairi's mood, and whether or not his verbal retaliation will be viewed as more of invitation for violence than a joke.

"Remind me why we keep YOU around?" she yawns back, eyes still fixed on the flashing screen, fingers lazily tangled in the shredded end of Riku's jeans.

"Well, isn't it obvious?" purrs Tidus, earning a medal-worthy eye-roll from Selphie, "it's my dashingly good looks!"

He strikes his best supermodel pose, one hand on his hip, the other behind his head, lips instantly pouty, making it immediately obvious his latest pose has been nicked from the front cover of some '_men's interest_' magazine.

Kairi instantly sits up, earning a grunt from Riku, her eyebrows creased in deep concentration, violet-blue eyes scanning the dirty blonde, before shaking her head a negative.

'Noooo ... That's what we keep _Wakka_ 'round for,' she hums, a small smile creeping it's way onto her face, a meaningful glance thrown Selphie's way.

"Oh totally, he's such a ... beefcake?" snorts Selphie, struggling in vain to maintain something relative to seriousness, a task made more difficult by the fact that Tidus' jaw has dropped so low, he's at risk of getting carpet burn on his chin. He makes his best efforts at brushing away the shattered bits of his ego with awkward laughter, his hand nervously scratching his head.

"Ha. Ha, when did you get a sense of humour, Kairi?" he grunts, Kairi's spitfire response instantly silenced by Riku's monotonous tone.

"I dunno, Tidus, i mean, Wakka could butter my muffin any day." He peels himself off the sofa, barely sparing his friends a second glance, nodding briefly at Sora who seems, a little unusually, lost in his own world.

It's Selphie's inevitable suffocation that finally breaks Kairi out of her stunned silence, the smaller brunette hammering the cushions in an attempt to get someone's attention, literally laughing herself to death.

Tidus looks, for once, as a loss for words, ego once again under attack as even _Riku_ sides with the girls on this one. He offers Sora a pitiful look, before attempting to change Riku's opinions.

"Dude, you're kidding ... right?" he pries hopefully.

"Don't worry, Ti, I won't be jumpin' _your_ bones any time soon," comes the lazy response, a statement Tidus doesn't know whether to take as an insult or a compliment.

Sora's instantly on his feet as Riku leaves the room, wordlessly he follows, a skip in his step.

Selphie's face is a patchwork of red and white as she finally manages to catch her breath, tears gathered at the corner of her eyes as she struggles with verbal reasoning, occasionally managing words like 'Riku ... serious ... his expression'. Kairi pats her back, a wide grin gracing her own features as she watches Tidus over the girl's shoulder, waiting for his reaction.

"Well, there goes Sora, the sheep to Riku's Bo-Peep," mutters Tidus, nodding after the bouncing, bubbly brunette boy, eager to direct the attention of the harpies elsewhere. Selphie shakes her head, her finger tapping her chin lightly, making very effort to look thoughtful.

"Doesn't bo-peep always lose her sheep? That's a bad analogy, dumbass," she quickly holds up her hand, gesturing for silence, obviously confident with where this train of thought is heading. "I'd say they're more like power rangers, you'know, you never get the pink one with- ... wait, no. Batman and Robin, definitely Batman and Robin," she cheers, clapping her hands in celebration, oblivious to Kairi's exasperated sigh, and Tidus' facepalm moment.

"And _I'm_ the dumbass?" comes his garbled response.

...

"We're just playin' around, Sora. Don't let us get to you," comes Riku's voice from the refrigerator, burrowing around so far back in the shelves, it's debatable whether or not they can pull him back out.

"What's this all of a sudden?" questions the brunette dramatically, one hand pressed to his chest, the back of the other pressed against his forehead, 'Riku, I've dealt with you guys for years? don't you think all this would go in one ear and out the other by now?' he smiles, fighting down the tinges of guilt, that just maybe he's made Riku feel bad about making him feel bad.

"Ever since I've met you, everything is in one ear, out the other," mutters the silver-haired teen, suddenly losing an interest in food, slamming the freezer door shut with his heel.

"You just seemed ... a little off. You okay?" and once again, Riku manages to pad his concerns with so much indifference, Sora isn't sure whether his question is rhetorical or not. He nods wordlessly, offering a bright smile, challenging him to accuse him of feeling otherwise.

To see Riku smile in return would automatically suggest the end of the world as they know it, that just maybe the four horsemen are waiting on the doorstep, so Sora quickly abandons the kitchen before the expression is given a chance to surface.

Because he can't see it, means it doesn't exist, right?

He immediately regrets his decision, stumbling into what appears to be a raging debate, white light television screen flickering in the background. Selphie positioned on the armchair, shouting her threats at Tidus across the carpet battlefield, armed with a tube of lipstick, waving it warningly in his direction.

Sora finds himself immediately facing the inner decision of whether to try coax her down from the sofa, or whether to try trick her 'weapon' from her hands.

Both seem equally as dangerous at the moment.

Tidus stands awkwardly at the other end of the room, hands held high in mock surrender, Kairi crippled with laughter on the sofa. Hardly the type of situation one likes to find themselves involved in.

"What's going on," comes Riku's lazy drawl from over Sora's shoulder, and the little brunette places hands on his hips and offers his best scowl struggling to physically capture the emotion Riku's severely lacking.

Kairi simply points, as though the gesture speaks a thousand words, although remains unable to utter a word. Selphie instantly picks up where the red-head left off, assuming the position and stabbing her finger in Tidus' direction.

"Muggins' here claims, thanks to your little comment earlier, _Riku_," she points the other finger at the silver-haired teen, still clutching her lipstick arsenal, "that he could still 'get' you, and when I took the liberty of pointing out your about as gay as Chuck Norris, which totally is _NOT_ gay by the way, he called me jealous!" she shrieks, Sora can almost see the smirk on Riku's face as the older teen senses an impending compliment, no doubt something to do with how Selphie's more than a little agitated that Tidus thinks he has better chances with the silver-haired 'heartthrob'.

"Why're you jealous then?' Riku hums, pushing his marker enough to make Sora cringe, but Selphie's cheeks are puffed up; her lips pursed tight, no chance of a word leaking out of them anytime soon, which is more of a blessing than a curse. Kairi interrupts, hardly intimidated by Selphie's weapon of choice.

"He says she's jealous," deep breath, "cause, counting _just_ you, he'll have had more boys than she'll ever have!"

There's a strange tension in the room, death glares thrown about like something friendly, the mood only broken by Riku's mutterings of, "he's probably got bigger boobs than you too, Selph."

"Pecs, dude, peeeeeecs!" corrects Tidus, hands instantly covering his chest, suddenly as insecure as a girl wearing her first training bra, something Riku also recommends he invest in.

Selphie is seriously debating whether to laugh or cry. Sora holds back a laugh, not eager to upset the seething girl, while on the other side of the room, Kairi lets rip, her voice hoarse from cackling by the time she regains her breath.

Selphie already has her heart set on revenge.

"Better shut up, kaaaaaaaairi, or I might tell everyone of your '_strange-encounters-of-the-worst-kind_' with that blonde guy Olette's been swinging off!"

Nothing has ever been so effective in convincing the red-head to keep her mouth shut, from the corner of his eye; Sora can see Riku taking notes. Her gasp is so big it almost chokes her, and Selphie stands, the victor of the battle, perched on her sofa-podium, arms crossed smugly across her 'non-existent' chest, at least, that's how Riku would describe it.

"Oh, come off it," Kairi expertly recovers, brushing away the comment with a wave of her hand, leaving a slack-jawed Selphie in her wake.

"Isn't he that kid who wears eyeliner?" Tidus struggles, unable to place his face.

"I heard he has herpes!" gasps Sora, hands cupped over his lips, eyes bigger than his mouth, highly unusual.

Riku, ever the voice of reason, decides to interfere with his infinite knowledge, attempting to cure Tidus' confusion with "he's that blonde guy". A phrase nicked directly from Selphie's earlier description.

"Not a chance Selph, Hayner and Olette are, like, meant to be together, like a fairytale or something. I totally couldn't interfere with that," comes Kairi's defence, all smug smiles and inflated ego.

"I'm sure you could though," Tidus muses aloud, probably not a very tactical move, considering he's in Kairi's presence "you'd be perfect for the role of the dirty old hag, you'know, she's in _every_ Disney movie since, well, ever, and she always loses her man. Except that '_alright_' lookin' one from 'the little mermaid' ..."

Kairi interrupts before Tidus' devastating tangent can reek anymore havoc, if that's even possible considering the distraught look on Selphie's face. Her Disney-loving days have come to an abrupt end.

"Dude, can you stop mentally-masturbating over Disney movies?!" comes Kairi's alarmingly high-pitched demand, overly concerned for Selphie's 'virgin' ears.

"Besides," she continues, eager to move the conversation swiftly onwards, "Me and Hayner are classmates at best".

Her triumph and the chorus of angelic music must be so loud in her ears, she remains completely oblivious to Riku's mutterings of, "classmates with benefits," quickly followed by Sora's snorts of laughter.

"Alright then, Kairi, truth or dare?" comes Selphie's challenge, already well aware of the red-heads answer, confident Kairi has been previously warned of the destructive dares she shows such a flare for. She fixes her green eyes to Kairi's, daring the girl to take up her offer.

"That's a stupid question," mutters Tidus, already bored with the investigation, settling for picking at his nails, one arm still folded carefully across his chest.

"_You're_ a stupid question!" Selphie spits, not once breaking eye contact with Kairi's opposing blue.

"Truth?" Kairi finally responds, voicing her answer as a question, unsure of where this interrogation is going to lead.

Riku leaps into the spotlight before Selphie has a chance to form her question, a move that frustrates her to no end, if her 'eye-daggers' aimed squarely at Riku are anything to judge by.

"So tell us, has there been any '_skin friction_' between you and Hayner?"

Kairi shakes her head 'no', a pretty smile worn on her face, still managing to maintain an air of 'princess-y-ness' despite facing a more vulgar-worded questioning from Riku. The silver haired teen is quick to massage his temples, exhausted with the brief effort of coaxing a confession from the red-head.

"Is there a possibility of some?" probes Sora, the picture of innocence, wearing a smile not even Kairi can resist ...

and yet ...

she manages.

"I do believe my turn is over, dearest," she grins, nodding towards the chest-conscious Tidus, still probing his 'pecs' with his finger, experimenting with his posture.

"Truth or dare, Einstein?"

Tidus mutters his response to the carpet, fully absorbed in his bodily inspection, unaware of the eyes watching him and exchanging confused glances.

"Am I talking to the right head?" she pushes, reveling in the hopelessly confused expression on Tidus' face, an expression strangely not foreign to his features. His brow creases, spelling out the words he doesn't need to say. '_What the hell are you on about, woman?_'

"I've only got one head," he answers finally, tapping his temple with a finger. Riku fights an _insane_ urge to clap at this comment.

"Jeez, really?" Kairi ponders aloud, Sora leaning a little more forward on his toes, eager to see where this is heading.

"With those _ginormous_ boobs of yours, Ti, I thought you had three there for a minute!"

Selphie immediately collapses to the floor, immobilized by the kind of laughing fit you need an oxygen mask to recover from. Kairi smirks at her victory, hands posed on her hips, corner of her lips tugged into a smirk. Tidus himself has gone into all out 'shutdown mode'. The cogs turning in his head are almost audible to his audience, and almost visible, considering how low his jaw has dropped, his hands once more splayed across his flat chest. By the time he recovers the ability to move his mouth, he's got nothing left to say, already aware he's got 'owned' stamped on his head.

"Dare," he mutters a little louder this time, eyes cautiously darting about the room to see whether or not his answer was sufficient. Kairi doesn't miss beat.

"You gotta kiss little Selphie here on the cheek, work out some of that sexual tension, you'know?" she purrs.

Before the gob-smacked blonde even has a chance to respond, Selphie's searching out the room for a crucifix, screaming her damnation on whoever's willing to accept it. "I do _NOT_ want icky Tidus germs; god knows where that mouth of his has been' she insists, fingers held up in her own attempt at a crucifix.

"Are you _actually_ serious?" deadpans Tidus, before heaving himself once more onto the sofa and shaking his head, muttering a mantra of "I hate this game."

"Oh, that's not fair," insists Kairi, arms folded across her chest, pout in place, slipping into her typical 'mall' personality of '_you can't NOT buy that for me!_' "How come I always get asked, and then the games over before I get my chance?!"

Sora suddenly finds himself once more amazed by Riku's magical healing ability, how a simple pat on the back can ease any teenage girls concerns, wiping away worries ranging from '_she totally stole my man_' to '_oh em gee, she's wearing the same shoes as me!_' He'd never admit that he himself had tried the simple 'pat-on-the-back' technique, but it seemed to be an ability unique to Riku. Although he figures having silver hair, teal eyes and an extra two feet of height couldn't hurt his chances.

He was the 'anti-Riku' when it came to finding a girlfriend.

As soon as Riku's hands rests on Kairi's shoulder, her argument suddenly loses its steam. Tidus seizes the opportunity to redirect some of the attention focused on him, suddenly drawing Sora's unusually reclusive behaviour into account.

"You alright, short stack? You haven't said much all evenin'."

"You miss his pweddy voice?" coos Selphie, pausing in her search for blankets, because god forbid she miss the opportunity to take the piss out of their little gangs verbal punching bag.

Riku's just relieved someone else has noticed the brunette's odd silences; it's not just his paranoia flaring up again. He's quick to support Tidus' innocent inquiry, aware that the only time Sora is silent, is when there's food involved, the kid even manages to have full blown conversations in his sleep.

Sora shrugs off their questioning, sighing loudly, his shoulders slumping, well aware that the reason for his lull in conversation is yet another ridiculous one, something guaranteed to result in Tidus peeing himself ...

Again.

"You promise you won't laugh?" he asks to no one in particular, aware of the beginnings of grin creeping across Tidus' features. Kairi nods enthusiastically, no doubt making up for Riku's lack of response. Sometimes blinking is the _only_ indicator the silver-haired pretty boy hasn't fallen asleep on his feet.

"It's just ... that movie from earlier, it's really... buggin' me," mutters the brunette simply, not willing to further explain for fear of earning himself the title of 'idiot', that's of course, if he hasn't already.

"How so?" questions Kairi, fully absorbed in unfolding blankets and stealing couch cushions, ensuring her own comfort for the night.

"I didn't get it!"

Riku interrupts before Tidus has a chance to say 'you said that already'.

"What bit?" he asks, more than a little uncomfortable, a little freaked out that Sora is actually acknowledging the things going on in the world around him, which is a rarity in itself. Sora's not usually one to show much interest in anything, unless it includes glitter and sugar, which unfortunately for anyone in the surrounding area at the time, happens to be a dangerous mix in the brunette's case.

It's like sitting a photosensitive kid in front of a strobe light.

It's just not going to work out well.

"Any of it, really," confesses the brunette, sounding a little upset with himself for his lack of intellect in matters.

Kairi once again fails to miss her beat.

"That guy at the start said he worked in a hospital, just to, like, help people through their last days, 'cause even though he didn't know what it'd be like for them, he didn't want to be left on his own before he died either," she explains, still fluffing cushions, yet to make eye contact with the gaping brunette.

"What a depressing job," mutters Selphie, carefully eyeing Kairi's pillow fort, already making her plan of attack, the effort of concentrating visible on her face.

"Basically, yeah," Riku offers, eager to help Sora out of his intellectual rut, "But the 'gods' or whoever, took his comment the wrong way, and instead stole him from his own body, and put him into the body of a person who was literally living their last day. So technically, he was helping them on their last day, because they were afraid to die." Someone give that man a medal, Riku was never one for stringing more than a few words together at a time.

"BUT!," interrupts Selphie, hands raised for silence, obviously not pleased with where Riku was taking his explanation, "the catch is, this guy can keep the bodies alive for longer _IF_ he doesn't go to sleep, and if he does, he wakes up in someone else's body, some other dude living their last day, and basically, the cycle keep goin' until he can get back to his own body, when _that's_ living it's last day!"

"Oh," mutters Sora lightly, still not completely in tune with the discussion, mind still wondering a little. Whatever about not understanding the movie, having to have Selphie, of all people, explains it to him, like some sort of 'superior intelligence' was _definitely_ the salt in the wound.

A little depressing, but Riku never had 'happy' taste in movies, although he was notorious for crying when Bambi's mum died. He managed to take denial to a whole new level when Kairi pointed that out to him.

"You'll get it when you're older," offers Tidus from his corner of the room, blitzball gear used like battlements to protect him from Selphie's cushion stealing wrath.

"How much older?" grumbles Sora, grasping the DVD cover between his hands, reading through the brief explanation of the storyline for the umpteenth time, face screwed up in concentration.

"I'd say about a week," giggles Tidus, earning himself an impressive collection of dirty looks from a rather uneasy Riku.

"Maybe I'm just tired," sighs the brunette, adding a less than subtle, "I could probably use some sugar" as an afterthought, a suggestion met with a solemn headshake from the silver-haired teen, frustrating him even further.

Despite Sora's uneasiness and frustration regarding the movie plotline, Selphie isn't too eager to drop the subject.

"Are you afraid of dyin', Sora?" she probes, the question itself totally out of character for Selphie's usual '_puppies and bubbles and i-hate-tidus_' mood. Kairi glances up at the maniacal question, confusion clearly displayed on her face at the sudden mood swing, like walking from the set of 'Barbie and the Nutcracker' straight into a scene from 'The Dark knight'.

"Not particularly," comes Sora's half-assed response as he makes himself comfortable on one end of the sofa, huddled in a blanket pulled up to his chin, his attention absorbed by the still flickering television.

"Would you do it?" she continues, as low-key as possible, brushing her hair with her fingers as though this conversation hasn't taken a turn for the darkest. "You'know, live out someone's last day, just 'cause they were afraid to?"

"I guess so, if it helps, I suppose," mumbles the brunette tiredly. Selphie's smug smile is enough to blind, there's a collective sigh of relief as she finally proves satisfied with her previous area of questioning, although her mischievous grin and the crack of her knuckles would suggest someone else is about to find themselves under fire.

"kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaairi," she sings, although the rest of her question and Kairi's exasperated response fade to silence as Sora finds himself fully entranced by the flashing of the television screen, and it's faint buzz. There are sporadic bursts of laughter, the feel of Kairi's cold hands pinching him awake, Riku's serious demands that he keep his eyes open and Selphie's well thought-out, more scientific solution of propping his eyelids open with toothpicks. Tidus doesn't bother with verbal reasoning, simply flinging cushions at him every now and again.

As he feels himself drifting off, eyelids far too heavy to keep open, Riku's words are the last he hears.

"Don't fall asleep, Sora."

It wasn't until afterwards he realised how important those words should have been.


End file.
